Chapter 20 - Maker of Monsters (Patreon)

That fucker!

Echo’s mind was lost to rage. But this – this was amplified by all the pain he had suffered. All the pain he knew she had suffered. All because this deity couldn’t keep his disciple in check. Malvir is the one who let Tiberius out of whatever hole he crawled from.

The New God walked out of a nearby tunnel, waving his pseudopods. He looked like one of the pocket slimes but was the size of a teenager. His body was a gelatinous mass in the shape of a Human which glowed a bright, neon green. He had shoved his shape into a set of clothes that were quite formal.

Unconsciously, Echo was exuding his Quintessence, an aura of silver rising off him like steam as red sparks danced in the air around the limning light.

"Alacrity." He activated his Ability as time shifted to crawl to all those around him. He heard Fumi utter the same phrase behind him. He pulled out his Tempeststeel sword from the pocket dimension, bringing it around to swing on Malvir.

But the sword passed harmlessly through his form with a slorp.

He turned to Echo and frowned, "You dare attack a God?" His words dripped from his mouth as he spoke, the ooze quite literally spelling out his speech. He smiled with glee and that's when Echo realized - the God was moving just as fast as him. He, Fumi, and Malvir were the only three who were in this accelerated state; to the rest of the world, they were moving too quickly to follow save for the most practiced eye. Their speech, hearing, and thoughts amplified.

Echo growled, "Your disciple tortured me!" He swung again but it was fruitless - the blade passing through Malvir with a glorp. "He tortured Fumi!" Another swing to no avail. Fumi slashed at the slime-humanoid being, but the same result occurred.

Malvir held up his hands, "Hold on! Did you meet Tiberius? Where is he!"

Echo dismissed his sword and put his hands into Malvir's mass. "Transmute Substance."

He channeled quintessence and grinned with a manic delight as Malvir's gelatinous self began to slowly turn solid.

This, however, caused the New God to frown and release a flow of Heat from his form that washed over Echo and pushed his hands free. Malvir's form resumed its gelatinous property.

"If you attack me further, I'm going to get angry."

The…thing in front of him was the architect of his pain and suffering. Her loneliness…and he couldn’t do a damn thing to the God.

Echo cursed and backed away. The two monsters instinctively knew they were no match for the New God before them.

Malvir smiled; or at least his face seemed to smile. "I know you're overwhelmed. Tiberius was supposed to use the artifact for a year and no longer. Tell me what he did - every detail, please."

Getting sick of telling this story over and over.

Echo complied and mumbled through what had occurred, putting his sword into the pocket dimension as Fumi sheathed her blade. She glared daggers at the gelatinous deity.

Malvir nodded when the story had concluded, "He has switched lairs again after your escape. Doubtless, he is continuing to make monsters." He clapped his hands and smiled, "Good for him!"

Fumi spoke with a deadly tone in her warrior mode, her bloodlust and rage palpable but barely contained. "Good for him? He tortured us!"

Malvir waved his hand dismissively, "Yes, yes. I'm sorry that you suffered at his hands. But look at what you've become!" He waved his hands and another wave of Heat flowed out from him as an illusory image of both Echo and Fumi hovered in front of him. He began flicking his hands across the illusion. "Hmmm…fascinating. You both had unique abilities to prevent death and change to your corporal forms."

Echo grunted and tapped his foot impatiently, "Get to the point."

Malvir shushed Echo and continued talking as he pored over the floating screen, "I see someone met Kalinor and power-gamed a bit."

Fumi began tapping her foot also and cleared her throat, "Any day now."

"Yes, yes." Malvir snapped his fingers and the hovering images vanished. "You two are the perfect monsters. Well, unless he finds another like you two-"

"-Explain," Both Fumi and Echo said in tandem.

He explained that the Mimic Cube – the artifact - contained a part of his power and would replenish on its own every day. It could mimic the powers of Malvir himself, hence the name. And as the Maker of Monsters, it could also make a wide variety of creatures.

"Seems like a dumb system," Fumi stated bluntly. “You can’t just take away the power from the item?”

Malvir chuckled, "It's just how it is. I don't dictate the rules of The Universe." He began to pace in front of the two. "I imagine you both want revenge, yes?"

"Of course," Echo said curtly.

“You need to get stronger to fight Tiberius. You need to eat more monsters...there should be plenty since it has been over a century." He turned to Pomentar, who had been watching the whole display and conversation with a look of shock. “Oh, yes. Your quest would be a good starting point.” He turned back to the two monsters. “When you feel strong enough, hunt down Tiberius and kill him!" Malvir stomped his foot which went 'squish' before reforming. "I want my Cube back! That damned traitor!"

In that instant, he seemed like a petulant child, not like a deity.

Echo glanced at Fumi, and whilst she still showed anger – it had simmered back down below the surface.

“We’ll kill monsters, eat them, get stronger. Kill Tiberius," she said curtly.

Malvir nodded. He described the location of his temple, hidden away in the Siltar Republic, in the Forbidden Peaks. “Bring me the Mimic Cube once you have it.”

Fumi crossed her arms, “What if we kept it? Used it on ourselves?”

Malvir chuckled, “You could. But a God’s Blessing might be better.” He pointed to Echo, "He has the Blessing of a God already. One of the most powerful in existence currently.”

Echo glanced over at Fumi and for the first time he saw a hint of jealousy from her directed his way.

Because I have a Blessing that she does not have.

It wasn't a strong feeling, but the fact that she felt that way hurt Echo deeply. He immediately felt her sorrow as if it were his own, but an idea also popped into his head.

He smiled at Malvir and looked over at Fumi. He held out a finger, "Go ahead Fumi. Eat me." Echo gritted his teeth.

Fumi nodded - and in one motion cut off Echo's finger before quickly swallowing it in one fell swoop.

"Fuck!" he winced in pain and pulled his hand into his torso at the momentary, searing pain…then he felt the pain Fumi was going through flow into him from his Bulwark Ability. His stomach roiled in agony and his abdomen burned with a cramping sensation unlike any he had felt before; the warmth that he felt when a God did something with their power seared his insides.

She gasped a few times before a bright, golden glow surrounded her, which then vanished a moment later. A big grin spread across her face.

“Enhanced Regeneration,” Echo muttered, as his finger regrew and the pain subsided. But he was happy that he made Fumi happy.

Let's see what he thinks of that.

Fumi coughed a few times, glancing over at him. "Not as good as your cooking."

Malvir's jaw - or what constitutes the jaw of a slime creature - dropped before he cackled madly and clapped his hands. He laughed and rolled on the floor, giggling. After a few moments, he composed himself and stood once more. "You just copied a God’s Blessing. I never would have expected that!" He clapped his hands, and they slowly merged into a single slimy appendage. "I look forward to seeing what kind of crazy things you'll do in the future.”

The Maker of Monsters began to shuffle away, but Echo turned after him and grabbed his shoulder, feeling his hand sink into the jelly-like body.

"Wait. I have one more question." Malvir stopped and turned around, gesturing for Echo to continue. "How strong is Tiberius? How will we know when we're ready?"

Malvir stroked his chin - or rather, he tried, as his hand pulled away bits of the jelly with each stroke. "I'd say hold off until you're at least in the two-hundred-thousand range across your stats. Tiberius was my first discipline, and he alone could rival a novice New God.”

But, he also stated, that was a hundred years ago. He could be even stronger by this point.

Malvir held up a finger, "And one more thing…try to not catch the attention of the Artificial Gods - the other ones I mean. You already upset Lux. She hates monsters like you two…But evolve enough and you might even be able to kill her.” Malvir smiled and his body slid into a nearby storm drain as he vanished.

Fumi walked up and kissed Echo on the cheek, "...I'm sorry that hurt so much."

Echo rubbed his still sore, newly grown finger and nodded, "It's okay. As soon as you looked at me like you did, I just knew I had to do whatever I had to, to keep you happy."

Fumi grabbed his arm and kissed his newly regrown finger, "...And now I’m like you." They both looked at the changes the last few days of training and the recent finger-devouring had earned them.

Name (Race / Rank): Echo Asheron (Monster / S)

Strength: 2,210

Agility: 2,210

Fortitude: 2,210

Defense: 2,210

Offense: 2,210

Magic Resistance: 2,210

Magic Potency: 2,210

Equipment: Brightsteel-Kevlar Armored Clothing, Titansteel Shield, Skysteel Bastard Sword, Pocket Dimension Ring

Active Abilities: Alacrity, Bulwark

Innate Abilities: The Dragon God's Blessing, Damage Resistance (All), Darkvision, Detect Abilities, Detect Magic, Disease Immunity, Eternal Youth, Evolution Instinct, Far Sight, Feral Senses, Perfect Casting, Perfect Defense, Poison / Toxin Immunity, Regeneration

Affinities: Transmutation, Fire, Poison, Protection

Name (Race / Rank): Fumi Medrana Soju (Monster / S)

Strength: 1,210

Agility: 3,210

Fortitude: 2,210

Defense: 1,210

Offense: 5,210

Magic Resistance: 1,210

Magic Potency: 1,210

Equipment: Skysteel Katana, Brightsteel-Kevlar Armored Clothing

Active Abilities: Alacrity, Spatial Sever

Innate Abilities: The Dragon God's Blessing, Damage Resistance (All), Darkvision, Deathless, Detect Abilities, Detect Magic, Disease Immunity, Eternal Youth, Evolution Instinct, Far Sight, Feral Senses, Perfect Casting, Perfect Offense, Poison / Toxin Immunity, Regeneration

Affinities: Air, Space, Fire

“You also got an Affinity for fire,” Echo said.

That confirms it – if there are multiple Affinities available to what you eat, you only get one of them.

Fumi giggled, “Yeah! That’s neat.” She held up her hand and a small fire appeared in her palm. “I can’t wait to invent some new Abilities with this.”

Echo chuckled and smiled as the throbbing in his hand subsided, "A hand massage would be nice."

Pomentar cleared his throat, the arena owner sheepishly smiling. “Well. I’ll see you both tomorrow for the briefing.”

Fumi nodded and dragged Echo back to their apartment.

But one thought echoed through his head.

We have a long way to go before we can fight Tiberius.

Tiberius growled with frustration as the Gori patrol approached him.

“I told you; I don’t have time for this!” He shook his head as the warriors from the dreaded Kumawara Greater Clan descended upon him, their thin blades drawn and ready to carve him to pieces.

Idiots.

He raised his hand, pulling his deep brown Quintessence into his palm. “Incinerate all within sight, Firestorm.”

The world exploded in front of him, and naught but ashes and dust remained of the twenty warriors that had intended to carve him apart.

What a waste of material.

A jolt went down his spine as he sensed one of his wards – spells with a set trigger condition - being activated. “Grant me sight beyond sight, Greater Seeing.”

The illusory panel showed him the darkened tunnels far off to the Southwest. Various shuffling, shambling forms were tending to sickly green and yellow plants. Beneath the Dead Scar, a hidden tunnel. One of his old, borrowed lairs.

“I won’t allow that.”

He focused his will on one of the various containment spells he had erected using transmutation.

“Cancel Spell.”

He grinned as the monsters broke out of their hidden alcoves in the walls and began destroying the tunnel tenders.

I warned you not to go down there.

The next morning the couple woke up and did their morning routine before heading to the arena.

An attendant at the entrance was expecting them and guided them through a series of hallways. Pomentar, the arena owner, sat behind an ornate desk in an otherwise plain room. Two chairs were placed in front of the desk which Echo and Fumi quickly occupied.

"Thank you for coming."

Fumi crossed her arms and Echo leaned forward as the Axan continued, "The Dead Scar holds many dangers, and we need a small, fast strike team to go into that dreaded region and find a plant."

"The land of death," Fumi muttered. "Where none living dare tread."

Pomentar nodded, "The undead are tenacious but dumb. We need the plant as fresh as possible. So speed is of the essence." He described a sickly green and yellow vine plant that irritated on contact – much like poison ivy.

Pomentar handed Echo a sack which he opened to feel a gust of cool air. "Put the vine in this bag, and then bring it to Crux Omega. I've advised Her Majesty's attendants to look out for you two and allow you to see her healers." Echo nodded and stowed the bag in his pocket-dimension.

"I assume by undead you mean walking corpses?" Echo asked.

"Yes. And perhaps other things. None enter that part of the Kingdom. I would recommend approaching from the South. From what Isaac told me, there is at least one monster with black eyes in The Heartwoods.”

"What's the reward?" Fumi asked.

Pomentar slid a sheet of paper across the desk which the two carefully examined. He summarized, "Noble titles. Lord and Lady, with all the rights that come with it. You can come and go from court as you please. Full access to The Kingdom of Cruxia."

The sheet of paper was a guild quest; just like what hung up on the walls within the guild hall. Instead of an attendant's signature, the Guildmaster's hand had penned the official approval. Attached to it was a bounty for the monster – some type of ape-like creature, but the size of a one-story house.

Echo shook his head, "We aren't interested in royal titles."

Pomentar frowned and leaned forward, tenting his hands, and resting his chin upon them. "What do you desire then?"

"Two things," Echo held up a finger. "One, we want to be named as allies of The Kingdom of Cruxia." He held up a second finger, "And two, if you hear about any more of these monsters, give us the first crack at it.”

Pomentar nodded and smiled; a disturbing sight for most as his rows of sharp teeth were on display. "That is more than reasonable. I feel bad offering so little. But, if it's what you want, who am I to refuse?"

He pulled out a scrap of paper and began to scribble on it before he lit it on fire using a nearby candle. The paper burned up in a bright crimson flare. "I have sent your request." He stared blankly at the two for a few moments, as Echo and Fumi glanced at each other.

Echo saw a slim, blue tether that was connected to Pomentar's head and undulated as if it were sending something to him. He followed the trail with his eyes only to see it vanish into the wall. "I think someone is talking to him with a spell.”

Pomentar blinked a few times and nodded solemnly, "The Queen’s regent has approved your request. She insists that you be given the titles Lord and Lady, as well as a country estate near the Dewdrop Forest."

Fumi shrugged, "If she insists."

Echo nodded and stood up, “We’re on it.”

Pomentar stood as well and escorted the two out of the arena, "The sooner the better. Her Majesty's health is ailing." He looked quite perturbed and clasped his hands together, "Please, make haste."

Echo looked over at Fumi and nodded, "We'll leave right away. What’s the fastest way to these Heartwoods?”

“Crux Gamma. There’s a set of doors in the Guild Hall that takes you there. Go North, you can't miss it.”

“Why ask for us to be named allies?” Fumi asked as they made their way back to the Guild Hall.

Echo explained that Isaac and Liam had implied that Lux couldn’t attack them directly. And, Malvir implied the other Artificial Gods hate monsters as well. So, it stood to reason, that the more allies they had, the less likely they would be attacked. The better chance they’d be left alone.

Fumi nodded, “A smart strategy.” She squeezed his arm, “That’s a reason I love you.”

Echo paused in his tracks, bringing the two to a halt. “What?”

Next Chapter